Everything Great About Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V Episode 148
by Animan10
Summary: In the wake of the final episode of Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V, there has be a nearly universal opinion of the episode being horrible. That is where I come in. I have taken it upon myself to point out the best points of this episode and explain why it is not only not a bad ending, but a good one. Free free to read, regardless of your intentions. Also spoilers (but you already knew that).


Seeing that nearly everyone hates this episode, I figured I would do what I could to defend it. Might do this again another time for another series. Also, spoilers (But you already knew that).

If you may have noticed, I updated this story since a few more issues were brought to my attention by the fandom (or hatedom, depending on your perspective) that I quickly came up with counter arguments for. That and my story was lacking in publicity and since I haven't updated it in a while, it fell down the story list in pretty much every organization category that was no dependent on the alphabet.

Disclaimer: The following is a parody of CinemaWins' "Everything Great About" series. All content referenced belongs to its respective owners. The only content I own is the work itself and any claims I make to justify the work being examined.

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 **The episode opens up where the last one left off, with Yuya having the four dimension dragons on the field and Reiji having his three Hell Armageddons.**

Such a perfect scene to open up the final episode with. All the extra deck summoning methods are present and accounted for on both sides of the field. **(Ding)**

 **Aya: What exactly is a portfolio?**

 **Gongenzika: I don't really know either…**

Hahahaha. Seriously though, does anyone in the target audience know what a portfolio is? I'm still giving that a win for children's obliviousness joke. **(Ding)**

 **Reiji destroys the four dimension dragons as quickly as they are summoned with monster effects.**

Reiji win. **(Ding)**

 **Yuri: Our powers are already yours.**

 **Yugo: We were originally one person, after all.**

 **Yuto: Give it your all, Yuya! If you have fun, I'm sure everyone will have fun too!**

The other counterparts' willingness to help Yuya is just touching. Truly a friendship win. **(Ding)**

Also, Yuto spells out to the audience why Yuya is able to make people smile nearly every time he duels, post-Synchro Arc. Joy is contagious. Yuya's entertainment dueling is at its best when Yuya himself is enjoying the experience of his own dueling. **(Ding)**

 **Yuya: You're right. In order to make Zarc smile, I'll have to smile as well.**

Case and point. **(Ding)**

 **Yuya and all of his counterparts draw at once in total sync.**

Sweet visual win. **(Ding)**

 **Yuya summons Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon**

 **Asuka: It looks so beautiful…**

 **Sora: Did he purify Yuri's dragon!?**

New dragon win. **(Ding)**

Also, madman redemption win. **(Ding)**

This is also a Fridge Brilliance win since despite people's insistence this came out of nowhere, Yuya did redeem Yuri. Yuri has been in every single one of the duels that Yuya has had in his quest to make Reira smile. so Yuya was able to redeem Yuri the same way he did with everyone else, by showing him the true, entertaining spirit of the game. Yuri has just been silently in the background of all of these duels. **(Ding)**

 **Yuya grabs and Action Card, revealing it to be Wonder Chance.**

Once again in, the series demonstrates that the Action Card are not Get Out of Jail Free Cards. A lot of people think Action Cards are a cheap trick to keep the protagonist from losing, but they really are not. Most people look at Action Cards like a second deck of cards that a duelist can just search through at any time for an extra cad when in reality, it is not that simple. The cards and spread out across the field, so a duelist has to actually spot it to use it. Even then, they still need to actually grab it and the opponent can do the same. Plus, duelists have no control over what the cards they pick up do so the cards may not have effects that are not beneficial in that immediate moment if beneficial at all. With the limit of only one Action Card in a player's hand at any time, this means an unhelpful Action Spell will be sitting in the duelist's hand, preventing them from getting other Action Cards until they can find a way to get rid of it. **(Ding)**

 **Odd-Eyes Venom Dragon is destroyed, prompting Yuya to activate Odd-Eyes Fusion Gate's effect to allow him to add an Odd-Eyes Synchro Gate to his hand, which he then uses to summon Odd-Eyes Wing Dragon.**

Their first appearance and the Odd-Eyes Gate cards already look like an amazing addition to any four dimension dragon deck. **(Ding)**

Also, new dragon win. **(Ding)**

 **Jack: I can feel it, Yuya! The vigor of your life! That is your Dueling!**

After all this time, Yuya finally demonstrates to Jack that he has learned from the King. Yuya has found a style of dueling that is truly his. Anyone can make use of Pendulum Monsters or use all the Extra Deck methods, but only Yuya can bring them together to create something truly awe inspiring and entertaining in the way he does. **(Ding)**

 **Yuya attacks one of Reiji's monsters with a marginally weaker monster in order to prompt the effect of Odd-Eyes Synchro Gate to let him add Odd-Eyes XYZ Gate to his hand and summon Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon.**

A clever play on Yuya's part that you don't see very often. Letting your own monsters get destroyed by battle with your own attack is a very viable strategy that most duelists don't use too often out of wanting to conserve life points. Points for Yuya taking a risk and paying a price. **(Ding)**

Not to mention, such a tactic is something that Reiji has time and time again thanks to the life point costs of his Dark Contract cards. Yuya is really going all out to show Reiji that he is his equal and is using everything he learned from everyone he has met. **(Ding)**

Also, old dragon but with less anger issues win. **(Ding)**

 **Yuya uses Odd-Eyes XYZ Gate's effect and Wonder Chance's effect to let Odd-Eyes Rebellion Dragon attack all of Reiji's monsters.**

Once again, an Action Card that was useless earlier in the duel finds use later on. **(Ding)**

 **All three Hell Armageddons survive the onslaught thanks to their combined effects.**

Reiji win. **(Ding)**

 **Reiji: If you cannot make Reira smile, we'll have to live with the ticking time bomb that is the Devil's eternal revival.**

Just to remind you of the stakes, Reiji points out that as long as Zarc's soul remains corrupted by the dark desires of humans, the world can never be at peace. Truly adds weight to the duel, despite the duel itself having the intent of being entertaining. **(Ding)**

 **Yuya creates a combo that allows him to summon all of the previous Odd-Eyes monsters save for Rebellion which is in the Pendulum Zone and force both Duelists to make a mad dash for Action Cards in order to make the last attack and win the Duel.**

In this one move, Yuya is able to demonstrate to the audience both in-universe and in real life just what Action Duels are all about. It's not just about making smart plays, but by using the tangible field, monsters, and Action Cards to your advantage and to entertain the crowd, something that standard Duels can only do so much with monsters standing in place, attacking, and getting destroyed. If you had to choose between watching a Duel were all that happens is the cards in the Duelists decks are played and an Action Duel which is visually more compelling and opens up more strategies with Action Cards, you'd probably choose the Action Duel. **(Ding)**

Also, with the right wording, collecting Action Cards sounds like any old part of the game. "You are using your monsters' abilities to search for cards." **(Ding)**

 **Yuya and Reiji battle it out to collect and set five Action Cards first to win the Duel.**

All of it. A win for every Action Card collected. **( Ten Dings)**

 **Yuya lands on a barrel of an acrobatics' Ferris Wheel, which starts moving under his feet, forcing him to run frantically to stay on top of it.**

Hahahahaha! Okay, I know Yuya lost precious time because of this and Reiji got Action Cards during Yuya's turn as a result, but this was just too funny! This deserves a win. **(Ding)**

 **Yuya rollerblades up a spiraling path to the sky.**

Opening shout-out. Five wins. **(Five Dings)**

 **While in the regeneration chamber, Ray's pulse beats harder and harder as Yuya and Reiji make one last dash to get their fifth Action Card, as if she is watching the Duel herself.**

This moment just captures what everyone in both audiences is feeling right now. Everyone is on the edge of their seats, waiting to see who set their fifth Action Card first. There is so much tension in the air that you can literally hear your heart beating. **(Ding)**

 **Reiji: I activate the effect of D/D Savant Albert from my hand! When an opposing monster attacks, I can send this card to the Graveyard and set on Magic Card from my hand! Now, I also have five cards! At this moment, my monsters' ATKs are also doubled.**

Reiji win. **(Ding)**

 **Yuya: Ladies and Gentlemen!**

 **Yuya proceeds to use a contingency plan to increase Odd-Eyes' ATK to win the Duel, while at the same time bring all of the Odd-Eyes evolutions of the other Four Dimension Dragons to the field as monsters and creating a dazzling fireworks display that culminates into the pattern we have all come to associate with Yuya's pendulum.**

In this moment, Yuya proves that he is Reiji's equal, if not superior, in a Duel. Just like Reiji, he had a cleverly planned contingency plan in order to counter Reiji's contingency plan. (Ding) At the same time, this contingency plan won him the Duel **(Ding)** and created a fantastic visual spectical that calls back to some of the Entermate monsters that have played key roles in Yuya's key Duels and presents an image we should associate with him. **(Ding)** It took me a while to realize this, but the pattern the pendulum makes resembles the colored part of the eye, an iris, hence the card Sky Iris, and is drawn by a pendulum with an odd swing. The symbol itself is a nod to Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon, Yuya's ace and the first Pendulum Monster to be Pendulum Summoned. **(Ding)**

Also, catchphrase win. **(Ding)**

 **Reiji: Due to Purplish Hell Armageddon's effect, my monsters won't be destroyed, but…**

 **Yuya: That's right! You'll still take damage! And due to Odd-Eyes's effect, it will be doubled! Reaction Force!**

 **Reiji smiles as the final blow is dealt.**

Of course, the Duel can't end without the series acknowledging its signature meme. **(Ding)**

Also, Reiji smiling win. **(Ding)**

 **All of the screens in the Stadium declare Yuya the winner of the Duel while the crowd remains silent, listening to the laughter of a baby Reira.**

Nothing warms your heart more than the sound of a baby's laughter. Five wins. **(Five Dings)**

Also, Yuya has passed his Pro Test. **(Ding)**

 **The series's second opening theme, "Burn", plays as Ray sends several rays of light across the four dimensions, teleporting all of the people Yuya had meet and fought alongside together to celebrate his victory.**

Nothing like playing what many fans believe to be the best opening theme in the series to send off all of the characters. **(Ding)**

Also, nothing like bring all of the important characters together to send them off. **(Ding)**

 **In front of the group stands a ball of light, in which the figure of a girl can be seen inside. As Yuya stands before it, each of his counterparts looks in and is able to see his respective Ray counterpart. Yuya then reaches into the ball of light and grabs the girl's hand. When the light fades, Yuzu is standing in its place, whom Yuya welcomes home after so long.**

Okay, now everyone is together. **(Ding)**

Also, Shun smiling win/ **(Ding)**

Also, shipping moment/hint win. Five wins. **(Five Dings)**

 **Reiji: I'm sure Zarc is laughing together with Reira.**

 **Leo: Yeah. And the world is finally one again. All thanks to Sakaki Yuya's Dueling!**

 **Reiji: Yuya's Dueling? (Laughs)**

This conversation can have a lot of interpretations behind it, with most of them good. First is Leo's comment about how the world is one thanks to Yuya's Dueling. On one level, it means that thanks to Yuya purifying Zarc's soul, the world no longer has to be divided since the danger is gone. The reason they were divided was to prevent Zarc's revival as a Demon Duelist. Now that he is purified, the world has nothing to fear and can return back to normal. **(Ding)** On another level, it means that Yuya's Dueling has brought the people of the world together. When the world split, each dimension developed a different culture with different values. Yuya's Dueling helped to unify the people under one value, that Dueling is fun and should be fun. **(Ding)** As for Reiji laughing, one could interpret it as him finding the notion of Yuya's Dueling uniting the world as ridiculous, like a certain fandom I know, but it could also be interpreted as him being in amazed disbelief **(Ding)** and/or him laughing in good nature about how he is not getting any credit since he was also in the Duel. **(Ding)**

 **Yusho appears before Yuya and challenges him to a Duel to prove his determination to be a successful Pro Duelist. Yuya agrees and resolves to continue to make the world smile and surpass his father as a Duelist.**

 **Yuya: The fun has just begun!**

As per tradition, the series leaves us with an ending that leaves the protagonist's future in question, giving fanfiction writers plenty of space to fill (or in some people's case, parts to replace, -grumble-). **(Ding)**

Also, catchphrase win. **(Ding)**

Now, I know many of you were not happy with how the series ended. That is kind of the reason I'm doing this in the first place. Many of you would argue that this ending left many things unresolved and was unfair to certain characters, specifically the counterparts, Reira, and the dragons. From what I can tell, the problem isn't that the story had a poor ending, but that people are looking in the wrong places.

First, let's look at what was supposedly unresolved. If you look back, I mentioned some problems people have, like why the world was coming back together, and explained why they make sense. One of the things people claim to be unresolved was that the counterparts were still all one person and never got their original bodies back. But that's the thing; they did get their original bodies back. Each group of counterparts came from one body because each group used to be one person. Now, you may be saying that each of them is now their own person and you would be right. However, that does not mean that each of them, on their own, is a complete person. Each counterpart is basically the embodiment of one of Zarc or Ray's personality traits. The rest of their individual personalities formed as a result of being independent from one another, but they were each still incomplete. To get a better understanding of this, we need to look at the themes of the story.

If you look at themes present throughout each series of Yu-Gi-Oh, one theme that is always present is self-discovery and self-acceptance. Whether it be Atem, Kaiba, Jaden, Yusei, Astral, Yuma, or the Barians, at least one character from each series has had to come to terms with their past, whether it be in their current lives or in a past one, and learn to accept themselves for who they are. Arc-V brings this theme to the forefront and explores it in new ways. **(Ding)**

The reason Zarc became a demon was because he lost his identity. He saw himself as an Entertainment Duelist who sought to entertain Duelists, monsters, and spectators with his Duels. However, he began to lose his identity when his desire to entertain the crowd and give them what they wanted (more violence) started to conflict with his pacifist nature, causing him to go made. He lost sight of what he truly wanted to do and became a demon because of it. On a side note, this is also great commentary on how entertainment doesn't need to be dark and gritty (a la 5D's) to be good (a la everything after 5D's with a lighter tone). **(Ding)**

Now, if we look at Yuya in the beginning of the series, we can see that he has no real identity. As Jack points out, Yuya is just acting as a pale imitation of his father, preaching his father's philosophies and over relying on cards and methods that people have associated with his father like Smile Word and his hammy tone of voice. Heck, the archetype his deck focuses on in the beginning is the same as he father's deck. But, as the series progresses, Yuya creates an identity for himself which closely resembles Zarc's identity pre-demon. He implements other Extra Deck summoning methods into his deck and uses more cards unique to him like his magicians and dragons. **(Ding)** And while he still preaches his father's words, Yuya adds on what he has learned from others and his own experiences to make those words his own. **(Ding)**

If you look at each of the counterparts, you will notice that each one has a defining trait that is shared with the original/standard counterpart. For the Zarc counterparts, Yuto is a pacifist who dislikes hurting others, Yugo is a bit of a showboat and loves to thrill the crowd with risky plays, and Yuri loves to be just as entertained as everyone else (although he became a bit twisted due to Leo's interference). For the Ray counterparts, Ruri cares deeply about those close to her and hates senseless destruction, Rin a normally sweet girl who knows how to be assertive when others are a bit out-of-control, and Serena prides herself as a very capable duelist. In the few scenes we get of both Ray and Zarc (pre-demon) we can see that all of these traits are present. **(Ding)** In the same vein, we can see these traits in Yuya and Yuzu, but to a smaller extent. This is because as fragments, they can only exert these traits so much on their own. These traits reach their fullest when all the counterparts are one. **(Ding)**

As previously mentioned, since the counterparts are fragments by nature, they are incomplete people. Even though the show doesn't give a lot of indication to believe they feel incomplete, it is pretty easy to chock this up to it being a subconscious desire to be whole. This desire to be whole is finally realized when all the counterparts are one once again and reveal to be content with it. Of course the audience is going to think that it's stupid for them to be content with this because the audience consists mostly of people have always been whole and don't need something to fill a strange emptiness in their souls, **(Ding)** unless of course you're a lonely person looking for a relationship. Besides, their individual personalities are still intact, so they are both the same person and individuals. They fill the gap in their souls while still being themselves. **(Ding)** It's like dividing the air of a single sealed tank into four equally sized tanks. The divided amounts of air can fill each tank, but the air is stretched thin.

Yuya's newest dragons are symbolic of this. Each dragon is an Odd-Eyes monster (Yuya's monsters) who has the powers and qualities of one of the other four dimensional dragons (everyone else's monsters). The image of all of them standing on the field behind Pendulum Dragon as it charges forward to attack is a powerful message. It shows that the counterparts will always be behind Yuya as he moves forward because they too are Yuya. **(Ding)** At the same time, it shows that they are all accepting of their past as Zarc since they are all Supreme King Dragons (Demon Zarc's monsters). **(Ding)**

To me, the story was less about an inter-dimensional war, and more about a boy trying to learn who he is. The war was just a tool to help him learn who he was and who he wants to become. Zarc wanted to entertain everyone with his dueling, but lost sight of that goal when he went mad, kick starting the inter-dimensional war. Once Yuya learn of his past self, he learns to accept his past and resolves to prevent darkness in Zarc's soul from rising up again. To do this, he simply reminds Zarc of who he uses to be and what his true intentions were. **(Ding)** This also explains why the final battle with Zarc seemed so rushed, because it wasn't the true main focus of the story. Yuya wasn't supposed to be fighting his past, he was supposed to be learning about it and forgiving himself for all the pain his corrupted past-self caused. **(Ding)**

As for Reira staying a baby, I honestly think this is a great opportunity for her. If you look back at Reira's story and backstory, you realize that she has faced war for most of her childhood. Whether it was with guns and bullets or spells and monsters, Reira has had to face war and/or train to fight a war. Reira never had a real chance at a normal childhood. Now that she is a baby, Reira has another chance at a normal childhood since she is in a safe environment with no wars being fought. **(Ding)** The same thing can be said about Zarc, whose soul now resides inside Reira. He is now able to find the child-like innocence that he lost when he was forced by the audience's desires for more violent Duels. **(Ding)**

Some common complaints about the dragons's treatment is that their sentience is forgotten in the last episode and that the smile philosophy is shoved down their throats instead of giving them proper closure for the torture they experienced while being used as humanities playthings. First of all, there sentience was not forgotten by the writers. I highly doubt they feel all that much pain when there effects are constantly negated throughout the duel. That kind of stuff is par for the course in this day and age of the game. Plus, negating and an effect is the equivalent of telling someone, "Sorry, the rules have changed. You can't do that anyone." After the Odd-Eyes forms hit the field, they were all pendulum monsters and pretty much immortal, so even destruction wasn't that big of a deal. **(Ding)** As for the smile philosophy being shoved down their throats, that wasn't really the case either. You know the phrase, "Misery enjoy's company"? Well, that phrase applies to other emotions too. Happiness and smiles are contagious. That's why Yuya's entertainment dueling becomes so much more effective as the series went on. **(Ding)** Yuya genuinely enjoys the duels he plays, so his audience and the monsters do so as well. The dragons are getting closure for all of their pain because what was causing them that pain has been transformed into something that gives them joy. **(** **Ding)** There scars from their past experiences are healing as a result. Laughter is the best medicine, after all. **(Ding)**

As for issue with the series as a whole, Action Cards seem to be the biggest among critics. Most people tend to write off an Action Card save as a cheap trick to make the duel last longer. But as the series has show time and time again, Action Cards are not plot armor. They have been shown to fail or even work against the protagonists on multiple occasions in the form of Action Traps **(Ding)** , unhelpful Action Spells **(Ding)** , and exhausting the Action Card supply **(Ding)**. And that's just a few of the ways Action Cards have failed to help the protagonists **(Ding)**. Plus, they only seen like cheap tricks because as outsiders looking in, we know that a script for the duel was written with the intent of a specific result. In-universe, these are all actual random events that rely on the duelists' eyesight, maneuverability, and luck of the draw/grab. **(Ding)** Not to mention there is a simple method to write in realistically random Action Card grabs involving a six-sided-die or any other easy to generate random event.

Believe me, I am not saying that Arc-V had a perfect ending, far from it. However, the ending we got is actually a lot better that you'd thing at first glance. You just need to do a little digging. While the series was rushed towards the end, the writers still did a good job capping off the story. The ending covered a lot of what the series stands for **(Ding)** and for a series that was essentially a giant love letter for long time fans, that should be appreciated. **(Ding)** At the same time, the story acts as a commentary on the franchise's history as a property and the history of the fan base (if you have no idea what I'm talking about, look at each of the dimensions as a generation of fans created by each era in the series and compare their interactions and behavior to each generation of fans). **(Ding)** The final result of Yuya in the ending is someone any Duelist should aspire to be; someone who plays to win but doesn't see enjoying the game as a weakness, especially in a fandom filled with both "stop having fun" guys and scrubs. **(Ding)** But what do I know? I'm just a guy on the internet with apparently much lower quality standards for good entertainment than the rest of the internet. Look on the series's fridge page on TV tropes if you want more proof that this ending is brilliant.

Maybe I should do this again sometime. I know another installment in this franchise that suffers from Americans Hate Tingle #cough Yugioh! Zexal cough#. Seriously though, what is it with some anime fans. They kiss the ground that original japanese versions walk on yet we get some many cases in which Western opinions are the polar opposite of the Eastern opinions. If you can't appreciate Japanese morals and beliefs you really can't call yourself a hardcore anime fan. Okay, I'm done.

Win Count: 95

Sentence: Action Duel with a smile.

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Well, I'm not sure I have actually convinced any of you, but at least i can say that I tried. Leave a review of what you think. Did I win too many things? Not enough? Missed something? Miscounted? Please let me know.


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